


Thoughts on the Relationships between Fans, Media Creators, and Journalists

by astronbookfilms (galaxyture)



Category: Multi-Fandom
Genre: Essays, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Meta, Nonfiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-09-25 00:16:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 2,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17110820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxyture/pseuds/astronbookfilms
Summary: This is a collection of some of my Tumblr posts about the relationship between fans and professional media creators and journalists. I have tried very hard to keep it polite and wank free, but as with most opinions some people will disagree with some chapters.





	1. Notes on this Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This work is largely composed of edits of posts I made on Tumblr. Some chapters need more editing than others so things may end up out of order.

This work is composed of edits of posts I made on Tumblr that deal with how fans related to media works (mainly commercial media works) and the relationships between media creators, journalists, and fans. I have tried very hard to stay away from "wank" and not vilify fans who interact with media and media creators differently that I do. I try keep the chapters relatively positive, but it is in the nature of opinions that some will disagree with me.

The vast majority of these are not fandom specific, but as stated above spoilers will be marked in beginning chapter notes.


	2. The Reality Behind the Image

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter addresses the disconnect between the image of an actor or actress the audience is presented and "the real person".

I frequently see posts on Tumblr that an actor is too "pure" or "good" for this world. Then the celebrity does something the fan disagrees with and becomes Satan (or a secular equivalent, if you prefer).

In reality actors and writers (and people in every profession) are human beings. They are complex. They can be contradictory. They keep secrets. They surprise people. They fail to live up to their ideals. They disappoint people. They impress people. They have strengths and flaws. Actors are no more or less human than secretaries or doctors. None of them are "too pure for this world". Their public image might be too pure, but not the real human being. The real human being may tear up at hearing that one of their roles helped a fan come to terms with a serious illness, but that same actor is a snappish jerk before their first cup of coffee. An actor might do volunteer work for numerous charities, but they expect their partner to wash the dishes after meals. The actor or actress might speak out for hotel workers, but yell horrible things at their children.

To consider a celebrity "too pure for this world" is to strip them of their humanity and human frailties. They all have flaws. Some of the flaws are excusable. Other flaws are inexcusable or outright criminal. Either way they are human. They may be richer and better looking than the people you see in your day-to-day life, but they are still human beings.

The entertainment industry is partly to blame for the situation. There are armies of publicists ready to craft an actor into an image that will make them marketable. They will box actors into comfortable roles. Sometimes actors even without the pressure and aid from publicists will do their own marketing to fit an image. The entertainment industry complex does not have fans best interest at heart. Money and power triumph over ideals the vast majority of the time.


	3. Acting: It is Part of Your Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter examines an actor's or actress' perspective on their experience working on a project.

Many of my feelings about my university years have little or nothing to do about my classes or other things that show up on a CV/resume. The same is true of films and television shows for people who work on the films and television shows.

Actors, writers, and directors are frequently sent out to do publicity before they have seen the finished film or television show. Camera angles matter. The soundtrack matters. Close-ups matter. The take that was used matters. Lighting matters. Unless someone has seen the finished product they don’t fully know what they are publicizing. 

Actors are human being. Like all human beings their view of a project is influenced by more than the final result. Maybe they worked with a director they wanted to work with for years. Maybe their father died while the project was being filmed. Maybe they met their partner on the film or television show. Maybe they clashed with a co-star. Maybe they were injured during the shoot. If they are on the crew maybe the department head was a clueless, disorganized, or a jerk.

Take my friend Debbie (not her real name) worked on a film that did very well at the box office. Unfortunately, she had a miserable experience working on it. She had years of experience in her department and was treated like she was born yesterday. She worked crazy hours. She barely saw her family or friends. She is generally a cheerful person, but she sounded horrible the few times I talked to her during the shoot.

She worked on another film that was expected to do well at the box office, but instead flopped. It got terrible reviews. I saw it at the cinema because she had worked on, but it was so bad that I went out into the lobby about an hour into it and sat there for most of the second hour because it was more interesting to look around the lobby than watch the film. Her department did an excellent job and she had a rewarding experience. She liked her work. She met important contacts. It helped her career.

Debbie looks back fondly on the later project even though the finished film was far worse than the film she enjoyed working on. It is true that for most actors who have not built up a body of respected work, a film getting terrible reviews especially if the actor's or actress' acting was harshly criticized can impact their career and, thus, impact how they view working on the film in hindsight, but even with that consideration an actor's or actress' personal feelings about a project- no matter how media trained or private they are- will be about more than what ended up on screen.


	4. The Secrets We (and Actors) Keep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is an examination and defense of actors and actresses who choose to keep some of their personal life private.

I had sensed for a while that a woman I know and her husband were having problems, but when she finally told me it turned out that the problems were much worse than I realized. She told me I was the one people of two people who had even sensed there were problems. She is not an actress. I am not sure she has even acted in a school play, but she convinced most people that she was in a happy marriage.

People pretend their relationships are fine when they are not even if it means lying. People hide the fact they have changed their religious/spiritual beliefs even if it means lying. People hide the fact that they are having financial problems even if it means lying. People hide the fact that they are having legal problems even if it means lying. People lie about their sexuality and gender identity because they fear the consequences of being honest. People hide the fact they have a physical illness or injury even if it means lying. People hide the fact they are being abused even if it means lying. People certainly hide mental health issues even if it means lying. Many addicts are very good at lying to cover up their addiction even if they are generally honest people.

These lies are told to family members. They are told to friends. They are told to co-workers. They are told to doctors. They are told to partners. They are told to people they physically see frequently including people they see daily. They are told to people they care about deeply. They are told to neighbors. If they are students they are told to fellow students and teachers/professors. They are told to supervisors. 

It can be embarrassing to admit that you are in financial trouble and aren’t sure you have enough money to cover the rent and food. It can be embarrassing to admit you screwed up a relationship. It shouldn’t be embarrassing to admit you are being abused, but sadly for many people it is embarrassing. As one woman told me years ago, “I wasn’t supposed to be that woman.” It is embarrassing to admit you were fired. It can be embarrassing to admit you injured yourself doing something stupid.

It is for these reasons that I tend to be creeped out by the idea that an actor would never lie either overtly or by omission or mislead the general audience and fans except perhaps in regard to spoilers. If an actor has any sense they won’t publicly discuss every argument they have with their partner or disclose every one-night stand. They won’t mention every time a co-star annoyed them. (Even if co-stars are genuinely friends they are going to occasionally annoy each other the same way as friends who are not actors.) They have every right to not disclose the details of their spiritual/religious beliefs. 

Expecting an actor with an addiction to be comfortable telling the general public when they can’t admit it to those close to them and sometimes can’t even admit it to themselves is just unrealistic. Plus it can make TPTB less likely to cast them if the addiction could interfere with their ability to work. Admitting they have a mental health issue can also cause TPTB to not want to cast them in their projects. I don’t blame actors for not being comfortable being openly LGBTQ. Having seen the extremely negative of some fans to the mere idea that an actor is not 100% straight and cis, I completely understand why actors choose to stay in the closet and horrible as it is I understand why publicists and money people who see those reactions pressure actors into staying in the closet.

Expecting an actor to always give their honest opinion about a project or an element of a project when their comments might get back to TPTB is unrealistic. There are VERY few actors who can be confident that they can say something bad about a project especially if it is directed at TPTB without risking their job and reputation. 

I wonder if the nastiness in the “real life actor” conversations comes from the fact that on some level the vast majority of fans realize that they don’t really know the actor. It is always possible that an individual fan actually knows something private about an actor, but that is rare. For the vast majority of fans the most we can do is guess based on available information and often we do not have the knowledge to accurately judge whether the available information is accurate. (I hate it when interviews and articles do not include the interview questions as reading an answer out-of-context makes it harder to be certain that the actor meant what they appear to be saying.)

We may know the an actor’s public image. We may know some gossip. But we do not know the actor as a human being no matter how many interviews we read or watch, how many times we do stage door, and no matter how many conventions we attend. In the interest of disclosure I should probably note that I have never done stage door nor attended a convention, but I have a number of friends who have done so and they still end up being surprised by things actors later reveal or that others reveal about the actor.


	5. High Pressure Groups in Fandom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter deals with high pressure groups in fandom.

High pressure groups and blind faith scare the hell out of me. I encountered a few when I was growing up. There were few atheists if any where I grew up, but a lot of people were ‘mildly religious’ and when mainstream religions move out cult-like “religions” move in. University students are figuring themselves out and high pressure groups tend to pounce hoping to unsnarl students who are trying to figure out who they are and what they believe.

I have no problem acknowledging that other people sometimes are more knowledgeable about me on a given topic. My knowledge of Eastern European politics is pretty limited. My knowledge of chemistry is far from expert level. The vast majority of people both in fandoms and outside of fandoms watch more TV than I do. I have not seen all the Marvel movies and most of them I have only seen once. “Black Panther” is the only one I have really tried to analyze. 

These are not contradictory attitudes. No human being is always right. That is simply not the way the world works. Even if someone is an “expert” they can be wrong. All humans fall prey to confirmation bias. All humans fail to notice things that were there for them to see or hear. All human beings have trusted the wrong source at some point. 

The fact I like and admire someone does not mean that I blindly trust them to be right all the time. I would be utterly creeped out if someone trusted me blindly to always be right. 

Saying that a character or real person (friend, family member, actor you never met, politician, etc) isn’t perfect is not hating them. Disagreeing with them does not mean you hate them. 

Changing your mind based on new information does not make you weak or a traitor. Sticking to old beliefs because they are comfortable does not make you strong. Even scientists aren’t always good at following this ideal because ego and fear the different are human frailties.   
A high-pressure group can give comfort. They can give you a group of friends and common enemies. Some people crave it. I am not one of them. I am not turning off my brain in order to have “a group”.

In fandom high-pressure can be scary or harmless. In other elements of life they are often terrifying.


	6. Fans vs. Writers: Humour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is just for fun.

Fans: Make sense, dammit!

Episode: No! *throws tantrum and has 87637463246 plot holes and inconsistencies*


	7. We Want Representation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter argues that we need people who are POC telling stories about being POC and people who are LGBTQ telling stories about people who are LGBTQ.

Why is it that so many people (especially ‘anonymous’) pretend that everyone in fandom is a straight white woman (or more likely young ‘stupid’ girl)?

Is it because they don’t want to admit that that they are telling someone who is POC not to be frustrated with racism? Is it because they don’t want to admit that they are telling people who are LGBTQ that they aren’t allowed to comment on issues that personally affect them?

Speaking for myself I think it is obvious that gay men would be interested in stories about gay men and opposed to laws and attitudes that curtail gay men’s safety and freedom. I would think that it isn’t surprising that people who are bisexual don’t always automatically assume that ‘not gay’ must mean straight. I can’t speak for others, but I don’t find it surprising that people want to see people who look like them and have the same cultural backgrounds as them on TV and in movies and books or that they don’t want to be stopped by cops for existing while POC. 

Yes, there are straight women who fetishize gay relationships between men. Yes, there are whites who find a POC actor ‘hot’, but also are racist. However, there are also a lot of people who care about how people like them are treated. They want to read and watch stories that include people like them. 

Having whites writes stories and cast POC actors isn’t enough because it isn’t just a character’s looks, but their culture. Cultures can be complicated and although there are writers who have written characters in other cultures well it takes not only research, but a lot of real life experiences with people from that culture and even then they usually get some stuff wrong. Some things have to be lived to really understand them. This is not a slam on people’s writing abilities. No writer no matter how talented could completely authentically write characters from every culture. 

We don’t just need straight cis people writing LGBTQ stories. We also need LGBTQ writers writing LGBTQ stories.

Many of us have been told “someday”. Someday things will be different and we can safely be ourselves walking down the street. Someday we will see people like us on-screen and read stories about people like us. Someday our people’s stories will be in history textbooks.

We will never get to that someday is we wait for “someday”. We have to make the changes now. We won’t fix things tomorrow. We won’t fix things by next year. But we will make changes and things will get better. Maybe it means we will have one more TV show that reflects our lives and concerns. Maybe it means there will be 1,000 more books that portray our lives. We won’t get everything we want immediately, but unless we make a real effort to get more of what we have that “someday” where we are truly equal will never come.


End file.
